India got a great start as Shardul Thakur dismissed both the openers in quick succession. Playing his first match of the tour, Thakur bowled really well as he troubled all the South African batsmen.
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Thakur first dismissed Amla, as the opener went for the pull but could only manage a faint tickle in to the safe hands of MS Dhoni.
Amla’s gloves just brushed the ball, as the replays showed that there was a small flicker on snick-o-meter. Dhoni then took a great catch, as he moved quickly to the left
Markram was the next to go, as the South African skipper mistimed a drive that was caught well by Shreyas Iyer. This would have been particularly pleasing to Iyer in particular, as the youngster had dropped a couple of catches in the previous ODIs.
AB then struck up a good partnership with Zondo, as the pair took South Africa without much fuss. Just when this partnership was looking dangerous, Chahal picked up the legendary batsman much to India’s delight.
On a good Centurion pitch, South Africa know that they need to put on a really good score to stand a chance against the in-form Indian line up.
Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli are all in splendid nick, and would be comfortable chasing any total under 300. But South Africa also know that India’s middle-order haven’t been tested yet, which is why a couple of early inroads could spell trouble for India.
Let’s see what the South Africans can put up now!
WATCH THE VIDEO OF AMLA’s DISMISSAL :
— Nikhli Gupta (@dhanushree2908) February 16, 2018
